Advancements in technology and the growing concern for environmentally efficient vehicles have led to the use of alternate fuel and power sources for vehicles. Electric vehicles or hybrid electric vehicles use energy storage systems (ESS) to provide power for various vehicle requirements. Commonly, the ESS includes a battery module which must be occasionally removed for servicing or replacement. The battery modules may also be disconnected to charge the individual batteries and then reinstalled on the vehicle.
The development of the electric vehicle has led to many different types of batteries and types of connections for physically and electrically connecting the battery to the vehicle. In addition, the battery modules typically require cooling devices and must also be fluidly connected to the cooling system for the vehicle. The physical, electrical and fluid connections for each battery module must be separately manually connected and disconnected. Battery modules are also frequently located in a difficult to reach area of the vehicle requiring removal of other components to reach the battery module. As a result of these variations, connecting the battery module is a time consuming process that differs for each vehicle model.